//------------------------------// // Chapter 12: A Visit from Aunt Cadence: Part 1 // Story: Daughter of Magic // by Moon Glow //------------------------------// Chapter 12 A Visit from Aunt Cadence Part 1 Applejack yawned as she sat on the train station's bench. It was 5 o'clock in the morning, an hour since she woke up, and dawn wasn't even making itself known yet. Though Applejack was a morning pony who would usually be up and about right then, the letter she received the other night after Aurora and her friends discovered the Ruins had her awake most of the night. The letter was from Princess Cadence, telling Applejack that she was coming to Ponyville to meet her long-lost niece. The letter also asked Applejack to keep the visit a secret, as Cadence wanted to surprise Aurora. Not that Applejack could argue. With the situation with her grandparents, Aurora was so worried that Applejack feared she was going to get an ulcer. Though the more "awake" part of Applejack was telling her that a sudden visit from a royal member of her mother's family wasn't going to prevent ulcers from happening. Applejack actually wondered if she should speak with the local pediatrician on the subject. Applejack sighed as she closed her eyes for a bit more shut-eye. Things would've been a whole lot easier if Aurora had come through the Gate a whole pony. Sure, she'd miss her hands, but at least she'd have an easier time adjusting. But that luxury would never be in Aurora's grasp. At least, until a spell could be found. Well…if Aurora wanted a magical makeover, that is. Hearing the sound of the morning train, Applejack's eyes fluttered opened as she heard the chugging of the engine, which had become pony-less since her first visit to Appleoosa all those years ago. But this wasn't the train she was waiting for. The train coming from the Crystal Empire would be made of crystal and would make an unbearable sound when the breaks hit. So with only the Friendship Express pulling in, Applejack dozed back to sleep. As she slept, an unwanted memory crept up on Applejack's mind. It was the day she and her friends had lost Twilight Sparkle twelve years ago… 12 Years ago, Equestria… "I am afraid Twilight Sparkle…is lost to us." spoke a sorrowful Celestia. Hearing her say such a thing broke the Element Bearers hearts as well as those of the bride and groom. Especially since the last time they saw her, they left her behind, snubbing her as they abandoned her. Celestia felt just as terrible as the last time she had spoken to Twilight was with the coldest words she had ever said to her faithful student. Not to mention that the invasion had no doubt made her subjects question her competence as a leader. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash got an idea. "Wait a minute! What if we use the Elements?!" This caught the group by surprise. Could the Elements of Harmony bring Twilight back? They were a great asset in their victories against Nightmare Moon and Discord. Who's to say it couldn't bring back someone from the Gate? For even a chance at bringing Twilight home was something Celestia could not pass up. Turning to a guard, she gave her command. "Follow me to the tower the chest containing the Elements of Harmony is currently being held in." The ponies waited as the guard left with Princess Celestia. They paced several laps around the Gate out of anticipation before Celestia and the guard returned with the chest. But as the Element bearers approached the chest, something felt…wrong. Like something was trying to repel them from going near the chest like opposing magnets. They waited a couple feet away as Celestia used her horn to unlock the chest. When they opened it, they were met with a horrifying sight. Each of the Elements were no longer in their respective colors. Instead, the jewels were black as ink and the gold necklaces they were secured in had lost their shine. What's more, the tiara holding the Element of Magic had become warped and disfigured. Like somepony threw it in a trash compacter. The Element of Magic itself was not only black, but it was cracked in several places. "Good heavens! What happened to the Elements?!" Rarity cried out, seeing the surprising disappearance of the Elements' fabulosity, especially in her own Element. Celestia was equally shocked. Never in her entire life had she seen such a sight. Not even when she had no choice but to banish Luna to the moon when she became the terrible Nightmare Moon. In fact, they remained the same when Discord was last in Equestria. Seeing this, it was clear something was very wrong. Rainbow Dash, thinking of Twilight and how to bring her home, touched her Element with her hoof. However, her hoof recoiled as she felt immense pain on it. After pulling it away from the chest, Rainbow looked at her hoof and saw that it was burned. "What the-?!" "Traitor…" a mysterious voice echoed in the caverns. Hearing this made everypony tense. Applejack, looking around for the voice, spoke. "What in tarnation?" Another foreign voice spoke with the same venom as the last. "Deceiver…" It was then that three more voices joined in. Each one more terrible than the last. "Avaricious wench!" For some reason, Rarity cringed at the sound. Almost as if the words were directed at her. "Wicked brat!" Fluttershy cowered behind Pinkie Pie, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Pinkie Pie wasn't feeling any better when the next voice spoke. "Misery Maker!" Pinkie's mane deflated a little at the sound. Like with the others, she felt the insult was directed towards her. Wanting answers and to beat up whoever was calling them names, Rainbow Dash called out to the caverns. "Show yourselves, cowards! You did this to the Elements, didn't you?!" One last voice spoke out, coming from the most unlikely of sources. The chest of the Elements of Harmony. A faint magenta light glowed around the Element of Magic as the voice seemed to have come from it. "Incorrect, Traitor to Loyalty. You brought this upon us. Upon yourselves." Everypony in the cavern froze upon witnessing the Element of Magic speak. More than that, what the Element was saying. Wanting answers, Applejack spoke. "Now what do ya'll mean by that? How did we bring this upon us?" The Element of Honesty glowed a faint orange, though it was bright enough to flare anger. "So you have done so far as to deceive yourselves as to what you have done? I had expected better from you, Applejack. But it seems I was wrong." Frustrated, Rainbow Dash shouted to the jewels. "What are you talking about?! Make some sense already!?" The Element of Loyalty glowed a dangerous red. "What are we talking about?! It's simple, traitor! Your actions the night before had not only cost Equestria the Bearer of Magic, but nearly made Equestria fall!" The Element of Kindness glowed pink. Though soft, the light was still harsh. Like a look a scolding mother would give to her child when said child got caught doing something bad. "Twilight Sparkle sought your help when she noticed the parasite failing to act like the princess, Cadence. A princess whom the Bearer of Magic knew her whole life. And what did you do? You've turned your backs on her and betrayed her at the rehearsal!" The ponies were taken aback by this. The Elements knew of the threat that had come to Equestria? What's more, they knew about what had happened to Twilight after they left her alone? "We…we didn't want to turn our backs. It's just that…well…" Fluttershy muttered, cringing at the harsh light of the Element of Kindness. Applejack stepped up, standing between Fluttershy and the chest. "She came barging in on the rehearsal, claimin' the Cadence we were with was a phony with no proof whatsoever." The Element of Generosity glowed a very cold purple, sending shivers to everypony in the room. "While that may be true, that incident could have been avoided if you had just given Twilight Sparkle the time to see the truth. Instead, your selfish desires were apparently more important than your friend's concern." Rarity was taken aback by the words her Element spoke, but couldn't find the words to speak. This allowed the Element of Generosity to continue, its words directed toward Rarity. "You, the one I had chosen as my new bearer, had long held desires to climb the social ladder. The chance to create a wedding dress fit for literal royalty was too much of an opportunity to pass on. Not even when a friend is showing signs that she needed your time to talk and express her concerns. Yet, your mind was too focused on the desire to be recognized by the elite to even bother." Kindness glowed as it spoke to Fluttershy. It spoke gently and kindly, which had rubbed salt in the wounds that were developing in Fluttershy's heart. "While you are indeed a kind mare, Fluttershy, what you had done was absolutely cruel. While I am proud of your accomplishments with a bird choir, you should have known that Twilight Sparkle was distressed. A true friend would have comforted them. And when you and the others had walked out on her? You should have shown compassion. Instead, you snubbed her like she wasn't worth your time." The Element of Laughter glowed a mixture of light blue and hot pink, as if uncertain what color its glow should be. The glow seemed to be directed at Pinkie Pie. "You, Pinkie Pie, were born with the desire to spread cheer and laughter everywhere you go. I was always eager to see what kind of plans you could come up to brighten a pony's day. Yet last night, you went against your element. When Twilight was left alone, she cried. How could the Bearer of Laughter, who goes to great lengths to spread cheer, make a dear friend of hers cry?" An anvil dropped in Pinkie's stomach, seemingly bringing more of her hair with it. The Element of Loyalty glowed fiercely as it spoke to its chromatic Bearer. "As the Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash, you should have thought of your friends before yourself! I cannot count how many times I had to bite my metaphorical tongue whenever your ego inflated. And last night, you have chosen your ego over the concerns of a friend. Just be thankful there is not an Element of Humility among us. Otherwise, they would be disgusted with you." Rainbow was torn between lashing out at her Element and breaking down in tears. Although she would defend her friends, she had to agree with Loyalty. Many times Rainbow's pride had gotten the best of her. Still, Loyalty did seem harsher when it made its accusation. A sudden chill ran down Applejack's spine as she heard her Element's voice. "I know you too well, Applejack. While you did try to reassure everypony that the false bride was merely suffering from wedding jitters, you had your suspicions as well. While it is common for brides to go overboard with their emotions on their weddings, your instincts were telling you something was not right. You ignored Twilight Sparkle's suspicions despite the fact that she knew all too well about what her foal-sitter was truly like. So let me ask you, Applejack. Why did you deceive yourself into believing a pony you had only met a few hours ago rather than a friend whom you knew longer than that?" Applejack bit her lip, knowing that Honesty was right. Why had she chosen to believe total strangers rather than somepony she already knew? Was it truly the Changeling Queen's tricks that made her walk out on Twilight? Or was it her own ignorance? She froze into place as Princess Celestia spoke up. "We admit it. We were wrong. Twilight Sparkle was right in trusting her instincts. And we do indeed regret how coldly we had treated her last night. But we need your help. Twilight had been tossed into the Gate of Sleipnir by the Changelings, which will not open for another twelve years. We hope that with your power, we can bring her back sooner. The moment we see her, we intend fully and truly to apologize. We want to take full responsibility for what had happened." "And what do you know of responsibility, Princess Celestia?" Honesty spoke venomously. Magic took over as it proceeded to explain to its former bearer. "While we admit you did the right thing in sending Twilight Sparkle to Ponyville when she warned you about Nightmare Moon, there are some things that concerned us greatly." "Such as?" Celestia asked Magic, warily. "There were some instances that could have been stopped or prevented by you, Celestia. These two days were one of them. A threat has been made against Canterlot and what did you do? Have the groom summon a shield just to keep the threat out? Had it not once occur that the threat came from inside the city? Maybe even the castle? "What's more, if the signs had been read correctly, Princess Cadence is like family to you. You have known her ever since she ascended into alicorn-hood at a young age. You knew what she was truly like. So why did you believe the crass words of a fake, despite the fake being a Changeling?" It was Celestia's turn to bite her lip. Magic was right. She knew Cadence even more than Twilight. So she should have picked up the change earlier. But she thought it was wedding jitters. That Cadence was under stress to act normally. Then a thought occurred. Suppose that was the real Cadence and she had calmed down after the incident. She would have been furious at how cold they had treated Twilight. A foal she had taken care of for years. Shining Armor, being the last bastion, took his shot at the Elements. Little did he knew that their words would haunt him for the next twelve years. Maybe even the rest of his life. "Don't you want her back? I was wrong. I don't know if I was under the Changeling Queen's magic during the last conversation I had with her. But I do regret it. I want my sister back! I want to tell her how sorry I am! I want her to be my Best Mare again!" Shining Armor ceased his cries as he felt the Elements' metaphorical glare on him. Of all the Elements, it was Twilight's Element of Magic that spoke, outraged. "Is that all?! Do you really think an apology and a bribe would bring her back to you!? You, Shining Armor, are the Captain of the Guard, the Groom, and my Bearer's elder brother! If anypony should have been on the defensive, it should have been you! A threat had been made, placing your bride and everypony else in danger and you decide to go on with the wedding instead of postponing it! And how could you not expect Twilight's reactions about you getting married? When was the last time you had even written to her?! She didn't even know you were courting Princess Cadence after graduation or that you even proposed! And asking her to be your Best Mare at the last minute? Didn't you think Twilight wouldn't notice something was wrong as soon as she got to work?" Shining Armor tried to speak up, but Magic beat him to it. "And did you know what happened when the lot of you walked out? She broke down into tears, feeling the cold sting of betrayal. And throwing Twilight out like that?! You should know your sister better than that! She loved you both! And yes, I am aware of the Queen's magic. But did you even think about WHERE Twilight was? Or even have anypony check on her!? And don't say she could've checked into a hotel or return to Ponyville! And if she were to have gone to your parents, didn't you think they would've confronted you before the wedding?! And if it weren't for the fact the Queen had become arrogant, she would have never transported Twilight into the same vicinity of the caverns as your real bride! Had the Queen been smart, she could've killed Twilight Sparkle or leave her in a forgotten part of the caverns to die! "I ask one last thing. What would you have done if you had found your sister, your L.S.B.F.F, dead after speaking so cruelly and callously to her?" Each word made Shining Armor cringed, feeling worse and worse with every syllable. But when the Element of Magic asked him that last question, his emotional supports couldn't hold anymore. Magic was right. Even though he was under the spell, he still should've realized how harsh he had been toward her. And the very thought of Twilight, his little sister, being found dead because of his idiocy, was too much to bear. He broke down and wept. Cadence froze as she watched her beloved shatter before her. From what she had heard from the Elements' conversation with them, something terrible must have happened the night before. Something that would haunt them until Twilight retuned. She looked down to Spike, who was shaking in his place. Whether it was from fear or sorrow, she was uncertain. Then, for the first time, Magic spoke in a soft, gentle voice. "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Spike the Dragon. While you were both a part of this, you bear no fault. Cadence, you couldn't have noticed the Queen sneaking up on you until it's too late. While it may take some time, do not abandon your true feelings for the colt before us. While he may have failed much today, he still loves you." Spike tensed when Magic spoke to him next. "Spike. While you may have walked out with the others, you did not share the same feelings as them. In addition, you are still young and are still learning what to do. I would not worry if I were you." The warmth of Magic became cold as it addressed everypony one last time. "Today, we, the Elements of Harmony, had been betrayed and the one who can wield the power of Magic is imprisoned in another world. So until she returns and the ponies before us reconcile with her truthfully and honestly, or if the time comes for us to achieve new Bearers, we will no longer be of use to anypony in Equestria unless the situation TRULY demands it." Magic spoke one last cold thing before becoming silent for good. "As Princess Celestia told Twilight Sparkle: 'You have a lot to think about.'" The sound of the Crystal Express approaching awoke Applejack. Thankfully, it wasn't those Celestia-awful breaks. As Applejack sat up, her thoughts turned to her memory-dream. She wondered if Kindness and Honesty would take her and Fluttershy back since the two of them were able to talk to Twilight and apologize before she was taken. However, she also wondered if they needed to actually see Twilight Sparkle before doing so. As the crystal train came to a slow stop, Applejack set the thoughts aside as she prepared to greet the train's most important passenger. Princess Cadence left the train with her signature warm smile. She had finally arrived in Ponyville. As soon as she was settled at the hotel, she could finally meet her niece face-to-face. Cadence was excited and could not wait to get to know Aurora. During the train ride, Cadence's memories filled her mind as she gazed at the scenery. It seemed like yesterday she was meeting a filly Twilight Sparkle when she offered to babysit for Twilight's parents. Now, she was meeting the filly of the filly she took care of so long ago. Upon seeing Applejack, Cadence greeted her friend. "Applejack. It's good to see you again." Applejack smiled as Cadence embraced her with a hug. "It's good to *yawn* see ya, too." Catching the yawn, Cadence pulled away and became concerned about seeing the bags under Applejack's eyes. Since Applejack was a morning pony, it was a surprise to see her so exhausted. Noticing Cadence's gaze, Applejack rubbed her eyes. "Oh. Sorry about that. I was so nervous about what's gonna happen today that I barely got any sleep. I managed to get some sleep a few minutes ago…" Applejack trailed off, not wanting to tell Cadence she was dreaming of that terrible day. Though truth-be-told, she was surprised that Cadence still wanted to marry Shining Armor even when he had been a lout to his sister. After becoming friends with Cadence, Applejack was able to see why Twilight was so suspicious at first. It made her feel even more ashamed of what she did at the rehearsal. Wanting to get back on track, Applejack started to gather Cadence's luggage. "Well, it'll be a couple of hours before Aurora's awake. In the meantime, let's get ya to the hotel."